The Medical Fusion conference sponsored by Freelance MD last weekend was a resounding success. It was dumb luck that I happened upon the conference while perusing the Freelance MD website. On impulse, I signed up yet was a bit skeptical about what value, if any, I would extract from the event. The experience was indeed unique and rewarding.

I left ‘traditional medicine’ in 1997. I was your typical General Surgeon pulling 1 in 2 ER call whose passion for sloshing around in someone’s ‘chitlins’ at 3:00 am was waning. I attended a 10 day seminar in cosmetic surgery held in Buenos Aires, Argentina and never looked back. I trained in cosmetic surgery for the next two years and transformed my practice into a cash only, no call, Monday – Thursday operation. In 2005 I received an MBA from the University of Texas Austin. I then partnered with an Age Management medical practice that uses bio-identical hormone replacement, nutrigenomics, and stress management to address significant patient issues ignored by our disease driven medical model. This also is an all cash, no bureaucracy, low stress-highly rewarding business.

My point in boring the reader with my mini bio is this: I thought I had independently crafted a rewarding escape from the chains of clinical practice. I had it all figured out and was doubtful that I would have much interest in other alternatives. On the contrary, the Medical Fusion conference presented a plethora of new ideas and methods via well qualified speakers to expand and evolve any practice from a non-clinical, non-traditional perspective. This well organized, brilliantly executed forum shined a light on the rich assortment of options available to us all as physicians. It revealed a world of exciting ‘possibilities’. Next year promises to be even better!

Hi Kevin, I just wanted to add that it's clear from my conversations with the faculty that since Medfusion covers such a range of topics, that they all derive tremendous value from both the speakers, and the attendees. Certainly I do, and there are a couple of new ventures that I've started as a result.

It's often the case that conferences yield one or two take-aways that are beneficial and make them worth attending. I would argue that the physicians who attend Medical Fusion are likely to take away ideas, strategies, and tactics that could very well change their career if not their life. By that criteria I'd say it's a killer conference for docs who want to break 'outside the box'.